Baby&#39;s play pen



Aug. 31, 1948. G. SOLE 2,448,237

BABY'S PLAY'PEN Filed March 9, 1945 Z: T: I: T :I: 211:: III: :2: IZZY-111i I 7 FIG. (4}

INVENTOR.

ATTD R N EYE Gepry 50/4? Patented Aug. 31 1948 oFFIcE ..2 44s,23'z 'BABYS PLAvniiN George Sole, Traverseityi lilieli. Application March 9, 1945, -.'Seria11l '\To.,5 8l,81

3 Claims.

the sides and floor, and other unique parts being held in set-up arrangement "by novel connecting parts and other unique and improved features. Furthermore, my play pen when knocked down forms an unusually small and compact package, and when set-up is extremely sturdy and practical, and has no parts liable to injure achild confined therein.

,Iprovide 'an'improvedt'oprail assembly in connection with my play pen which affords a smooth and efi'icient guard and support for a child, and improved corner posts and connections with the sides and bottom whereby the entire assembled structure is rendered more rigid and less likely to become loose under constant strenuous use. Furthermore, my pen is so constructed that it may be set-up or knocked down quickly and without recourse to special tools and which when knocked down occupies very little space either in storage or when being transported.

Other and equally important objects and advantages of my invention are (1) the provision of novel and sturdy connecting means between the sides and corner posts, and between the corner posts and floor, (2) the provision of a unique and practical top rail which afiords a smooth, effective guard and support to a child confined in the pen, and also lends support to the sides of the pen, and (3) the provision of a collapsible floor which is firm and rigid when set up and so attached to the corner posts as to prevent displacement.

While I have briefly defined some of the objects and advantages in the foregoing, others of equal importance will be apparent as the description proceeds, but I wish to emphasize that the scope of my inventive concept is not to be limited by the specific forms, arrangements, and constructions, herein shown for purposes of illustration, but is to be determined by the scope and purport of the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein I have illustrated a preferred form of my invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the same;

Figure 2 is a top plan view;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the detailed construction and manner of assembling the sides with the corner posts;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 to show the corner post assembly, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one end of a top rail an shows the longitudinal groove in the underside thereof to receive the tops of the lazy tongc'onstruction of the sides; and the recess to receive the end frames of the sides.

In the drawings wherein like characters (If reference are used to designate like or similar parts;

The numeral l 'designatesjthe sides of my play which follow a standardlazy tong construca tion with pivoted bars '2 framed at the ends of each sideas at .3 where the ends of the bars 2 are pivotallymounted and retained as at 4 between the spaced end rails 5 vconstitutingthe end framing and supporting members. Such construction is effective and'rug'g'ed When setup (as snow'n'i'n' Figure 1) and'fold's into a compact space when knocked down.

At each of the four corners of the pen, I provide a corner post 6 which is somewhat longer than the length of the end rails 5 of the sides I so that a depending foot portion 1 is provided when the pen is assembled or set-up which extends through c'orner openings in the floor 8 and is retained in that position to support the floor by pins 9. The flo or is formed with sections hingedly connected at III to fold up when not in use. In setting up my pen, the floor is laid flat as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the corner posts fixed in place. Each corner post is provided with spaced pairs of bolts I I which extend at right angles to each other as shown in Figures 3 and 4 to extend respectively between the rails of end frames 5 of adjacent sides, and the sides are connected to the corner posts by simply placing the nuts I2 on the bolts and screwing them up as shown in Figure 4 and as suggested by the arrangement of these several parts in Figure 3.

There are four top rails IS-one for each sideand each top rail is grooved as at I4 on its under face to cap or receive therein the upper ends of bars 2 of the sides I to form a rigid structure and to provide a smooth and effi-cient support for a child confined in the pen. The ends of the top rails are recessed as at I5as shown in Figure 5-to receive the end rails -5 of the sides thereby to complete the assembly. To prevent their removal by a child, the top rails I3 are connected to the corner posts 6 by hooks I6 pivoted to the rails and eyes I'I fixed to the posts.

To knock down my pen, the top rails are first removed after which the sides I are collapsed and the floor 8 folded. The corner posts 6 are not disengaged from the sides I as they do not in any way interfere with the collapsing of the sides. The parts are then placed together and 3 form a compact parcel for transportation or storage.

It is again emphasized that While I have particularized in the foregoing description to impart a clear understanding of the construction and operation of my invention, the scope of my invention is only to be determined by reference to the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible play pen comprising a sectional floor, the sections of which are hingedly connected to fold up when not in use, openings in the floor adjacent each corner thereof, corner posts detachably received in the openings in the floor and extending slightly below the floor when set up to form feet, pins in said feet to retain said posts in said openings, foldable sides, end rails on the sides, and pairs of fastening devices carried by the corner posts and extending at right angles to each other to engage the end rails of adjacent sides when set up, and removable top rails for the sides having means thereon for connecting said top rails to said spaced end rails.

2. A knock down play pen, comprising foldable sides having a lazy tong construction, end rails on the sides, corner posts, a foldable floor having openings therein adjacent each corner thereof to detachably receive the corner posts, pins in the lower ends of said posts below said floor to retain said posts in said openings and pairs, of fastening devices carried by the corner posts, the fastening devices of each pair extending at right-angles to each other to engage and secure .the end rails of adjacent sides, and detachable top rails for each side, each being grooved to receive the ends of the bars of the sides.

3. A collapsible play pen, comprising a sectional floor to be folded up when not in use, corner posts detachably connected with the floor, foldable sides having a lazy tong construction and provided with end rails, said corner posts each having pairs of bolts crossing each other at right angles to engage the end rails of adjacent sides, and grooved top rails fitting over the ends of the bars forming the lazy tong construction of the sides, said top rails having end recesses for receiving the end rails of the sides. GEORGE SOLE.

7 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 115,742 Knight June 6, 1871 381,066 Goodwin Apr. 10, 1888 447,102 Bushman Feb. 24, 1891 907,295 Segal Dec. 22, 1908 1,385,045 Griffith July 19, 1921 1,429,335 Gabriel Sept. 19, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 58,878 Switzerland Aug. 29, 1912 182,406 Great Britain July 6, 1922 540,987 Great Britain Nov. 7, 1941 

